Senegal promises 250 more peacekeeping troops for neighboring Mali

DAKAR, Senegal – Senegal plans to send more peacekeeping troops to neighboring Mali, where international forces are trying to restore stability after jihadi extremists took over the country's north.

Senegalese President Macky Sall announced Monday that he would send in 250 more troops during a visit by the Malian leader, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

Around 500 Senegalese soldiers are already in the country as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force.

Mali descended into chaos following a 2012 coup, and al-Qaida-linked militants seized control of the much of the country's north. French troops intervened to push back the radicals last year, and thousands of U.N. peacekeepers are now helping to maintain peace.